Internet stars shine at Canada e-Tourism Awards

November 30, 2007
	As website screenshots and online videos flashed frantically across the five story screen, an audience of Canada's top travel and tourism executives were all sitting on the edge of their seats in anticipation of the final envelope of the night: the industry Best-in-Show of the first Canadian e-Tourism Awards. On November 8th, 2007 in the OMNIMAX Theatre at Telus World of Science in Vancouver, the Canadian e-Tourism Council (a forum of over 50 marketing executives, representing travel and tourism organizations from all sectors from all over Canada) hosted the first ever Canadian e-Tourism Awards celebration. The Awards Ceremony also featured the exclusive pre-screening of the first Canadian Destination IMAX Movie "Rocky Mountain Express" to be released in 2009, with a special introduction by the film's producer and director, Stephen Low. Miss Canada International 2008, Alesia Fieldberg, presented Nahanni River Adventures with the Canadian e-Tourism Awards tourism industry Best-in-Show award for its outstanding website (www.nahanni.com), sponsored by Yahoo! Canada. Awarding the winner with the "Big Ideas Chair", Hunter Madsen, marketing director for Yahoo! Canada, praised Nahanni River Adventures as an exemplary organization that is excelling at showcasing technical innovations consistent with its brand. The United Nations' World Tourism Organization also launched the UNWTO e-Tourism Climate Change Awards at the Canadian e-Tourism Awards. It is very prestigious for Canada to be selected as the launch-pad for this important competition. The aim of the award is to identify innovative responses which raise awareness through travel and tourism web sites about changing consumption behaviour to generate more climate friendly tourism choices. Geoffrey Lipman, UNWTO Assistant Secretary General, presented the award to Canadian Mountain Holiday for its outstanding commitment to environmental excellence. Fairmont Hotels & Resorts was recognized as "Runner-Up" in a group of very strong finalists, showcasing Canada's commitment to climate change and sustainability. The first Canadian e-Tourism Awards also recognized consumer generated content in story, photo, and video, to celebrate travellers sharing their Canadian travel experiences. The Best-in-Show award, sponsored by the Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC) went to Michael Earle for his collapsing iceberg video off the coast of Labrador. He not only received the Keep-Exploring Award, presented by CTC president and CEO Michele McKenzie, but also won a unique trip for two to the Yukon and Northwest Territories, sponsored by a collaboration between Tourism Yukon, NWT Tourism, and Air North. Jens Thraenhart, chair of the Canadian e-Tourism Council and host of the Canadian e-Tourism Awards, noted that hosting the Canadian e-Tourism Awards in conjunction with the Canada-e-Connect Strategy Conference not only provided a forum to learn about consumer trends, emerging technologies, and new media channels during the strategy conference, but also, through the awards, recognized the best of the best of those which have taken a lead in leveraging online marketing and the internet to connect with consumers, and marketing Canada as a tourism destination.